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And Lauren was in charge of all five theaters. The burlesque show was well choreographed and sported gorgeous costumes, but the girls were relying more on their nudity to bring eyeballs in than their dancing, and she’d whipped them into shape within two weeks. They’d been sloppy and all about their tits, when Lauren had first viewed the show, but now the dancers had perfect posture and were exactly synchronized when they danced, without arms flailing all over the place. They hadn’t been terrible, but a half-beat difference when arms are extended is huge on stage. Also, the angle of everyone’s arms must be the same, and they were not.Now they were. She hadn’t made any friends in the process, but she hadn’t much cared. The four who’d quit were easily replaced.
The other shows, she’d polished a little, but she done so by working with those who needed it in private, rather than coming in like a bitch-on-wheels. Great shows were now magnificent shows, and she was proud of the changes.
On this night, the three-month anniversary of Gavin taking over the title of Master of Vegas, which meant he was actually Master of Nevada, a glitzy gala was planned — the kind you expect when you think of Vegas.
Their condo no longer looked the same. Everything in the expansive penthouse had been changed out for more tasteful décor, so there were all new draperies, flooring, tables, lighting fixtures, and everything else. Rather than the woodsy, homey feel of the Branson coterie house on the mountain, Gavin, Lauren, and Nick had worked with Matty to create a haven of old-world majesty — a bold contrast to the view of the lights and chaos of Vegas just outside the bulletproof glass walls of their home. Or rather, bullet-resistant, because Nathan was quick to point out that while this glass would repel up to a fifty-caliber weapon shot from ten feet away, there were larger and more destructive calibers.
Most standard walls couldn’t defend against a small cannon either, though, so Lauren felt safe enough in their haven atop the strip.
The threesome had replaced the gaudy gold with deep wood, and the flashy white with a deep burgundy. Individual strands of fourteen karat gold were woven into the subtle design of the burgundy fabrics, but it was an understated look. Matty had been adamant that it was important to show the extravagance and opulence of Vegas, and this was a tasteful way of doing so. Lauren had to admit, he’d been right.
She stood at the top of the dramatic staircase and looked down at their main living space — the one too large to do anything besides entertain in. Their eighteen-thousand foot penthouse condo included a three-story tall space designed to host parties, and it was decked out and waiting for guests.
Lauren much preferred the smaller parlor area where the threesome spent most of their alone-time together once the sun went down, as well as the underground suite, where Gavin stayed before the sun set. But this area, she knew, was important when it came to public perception.
She was equal parts excited and terrified about the gala. The guest list included Lauren’s mother and her men, along with the Dragon King and Swan Queen, the Master of Florida along with his tigress and many of his vampires, the Mistress of Alabama and a dozen of her people, the new Master Vampire of most of the Southeastern U.S., more A-list actors than Lauren cared to think about, and the owners of many of the other casinos in Vegas. Also, every Master Vampire in Nevada, and many from Arizona and California. Gavin had decided to throw one huge party for both the human and supernatural arms of his new empire, all at once.
Lauren wore a red silk dress that’d been literally made for her. Some dress designer in Nashville that Matty knew had been flown in to make her dress, and to outfit Gavin in his traditional leather pants and silk shirt in a way that made him fit in with the black-tie crowd. Gavin wore snug black leather pants, a charcoal silk shirt, a black leather suit-vest, and a suit jacket that came below his knees, with the back cut so it looked more like a cape you’d expect a theatrical vampire to wear than a suit coat. It made him look like the perfect villain, sharp and snazzy and absolutely wicked, and Laurenlovedit.
And with Lauren in the red dress that clung toallher curves while baring one shoulder and arm to showcase her tattoos, they made a beautiful couple.
Add Nick, with his mostly-traditional tuxedo over a tight silky-stretchy t-shirt that molded to his muscled chest and chiseled abs under the open jacket, the three looked better than Lauren figured most of the A-list actors were going to look.
“Can you believe my mom told me she had to offer special sexual services to get Nathan into a tux?” Lauren asked Gavin.
He laughed, and his eyes sparkled a little when he was happy, these days. “Don’t look so mortified. I’m sure your mother gets up to all kinds of kinky fun with her men.”
“Maybe so, but she doesn’t have totellme about it!”
“And she didn’t. She merely pointed out that she had to resort to special tactics to get her lion into dressy clothes.” He wrapped his arms around her, careful of her hair and makeup, and kissed her forehead. “Speaking of kinky games, I’m looking forward to our plans for after the gala more than I think you know.”
The week before, Lauren had sensed something hinky with the lead trapeze team on one of the acts. Two of the girls had the energy of a rape victim, and when she touched the lead trapeze guy, she saw him as evil. Bad. Malignant.
So she’d asked Gavin to go into their heads and look, and he discovered the man was demanding sexual favors from the two women, and when they weren’t enthusiastic enough, he told them he only had to ask for them to be replaced, and they’d lose their jobs.
She’d asked Gavin to punish him, but Gavin had merely strung him up naked and handed her a whip.
Lauren had thoroughly enjoyed whipping, caning, and belting him, but she’d drawn the line at wearing the strap-on Gavin tried to put on her. She’d asked her men to fuck the acrobat’s ass, and they’d both done so while she watched. Gavin had gone first, and while Nick was fucking him, she’d dragged Gavin to the bondage table, climbed on, and rode him hard.
She’d never considered herself kinky, but beating a rapist totally did it for her. It was weird, because it hadn’t started out sexual. Well, he’d been naked, but she hadn’t been — and she’d beenpissed. But beating him had worked that out of her system, and it’d grown into something… not sexy, but lustful. Lust and need and carnal hunger. Animal needs, not human needs, but she’d had acrazyorgasm at the end of it all. A totally different kind of release than the kind you get with intimate sex, and yet, sharing the experience with her men had been its own kind of intimacy. Something she’d never admit toanyoneoutside the three of them. Their own special secret. Well, the rapist knew, but Gavin had fixed it so he’d never share the details of his punishment. He was still alive, and still had his tongue and vocal cords, but had mental blocks to keep him from talking about what’d happened to him. Also, he didn’t remember the sex that happened on the other side of the room, so even if he eventually broke through the blocks, what he could tell was limited.
And tonight, Gavin wanted to try an experiment, which meant Lauren was going to be flogging and belting someone who enjoyed it, and who’d done nothing wrong to deserve it. Her vampire wanted to see if Lauren could find pleasure in hurting someone when they wanted to be hurt, or whether she was only turned on when it was true punishment.
She didn’t think she was going to enjoy it, andreallydidn’t want to try, but Gavin pointed out that she hadn’t expected to like whipping the rapist, either.
Lauren made her way down the stairs, and Queenie approached her as she reached the bottom. “The Florida and Alabama parties checked into their suites last night, and we have word they are up and about in the underground. I understand your mother will flash into a dark area of the parking garage and will make her way upstairs upon arrival.”
“Mom texted me right before they left, so she should be on her way up with her men. I expect security will escort her to us any minute now.” Lauren waved her arms towards one of the staff, fiddling with one of the many artsy-fartsy floral arrangements. “I feel like I should be doing something to help, but Gavin assures me you have it all in hand.”
“Mostly, I’m just supervising all the teams we’ve brought in to do the real work. The caterers are set up and walking the wait staff through their paces, the decorators finally left about ten minutes ago, and our security team is in place with their final instructions,” she glanced at the person fiddling with the flowers, “which includes adding listening devices in unexpected places. Spend this hour with your mom before your guests begin arriving.”
The front door opened and Lauren’s mom walked in with Mordecai. Before Lauren could ask, her mom said, “Nathan is off with the security team, scrutinizing their setup, I’m sure.” She looked up and around, and smiled. “The extra twinkle lights make it look really festive. Matty did a great job helping you find a look I think reflects the three of you.Anythingwould’ve been an improvement over what you were handed, though.”
“Is Cora okay?” Lauren had awakened to the news that Cora had changed her RSVP to say she and her new beau weren’t able to attend after all. Lauren had tried to call her, but it had gone to voice mail, so she’d hung up and sent a text saying she was going to miss seeing her and she hoped everything was okay.
“She’s fine — just has a lot to handle and it isn’t a good time for her to leave Homewood. Mordecai tells me the two of you have discovered some new tricks?”
The three had walked up the steps and into the parlor while they talked, and Lauren closed the door. “When Cally absorbed back into me after killing Huxley, she had a lot of his blood on her, and I gained some of his abilities — and I’ve kept them. Mordecai and Gavin both assumed they would fade, but so far, they haven’t. We’ve experimented around with it, and a few drops of blood won’t do it. She wassoakedin his blood.”
